1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an operation display device and an operation display method.
2. Description of the Related Art
An operation panel, or the like, of a multi function peripheral (MFP) usually has lower resolution than a personal computer (PC), or the like; therefore, it is difficult to arrange a large number of icons or buttons on a screen. To achieve desired operability, a touch panel is often adopted as an input unit; however, in such a case, it is difficult to assign a plurality of operations to a single icon or button. Hence, a large number of operation hierarchies are required to perform a certain operation, and it is difficult to select a plurality of input units, which causes poor operability.
For example, it is difficult, for an operation panel with a touch panel, to use an input method, such as clicking the right mouse button, to display explanations of a function and operation related to the displayed icon or button.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2008-073917 discloses an operation display device with a touch panel in which a display unit displays function keys that correspond to various operations, the surface of the display unit is made up of a touch panel, and at least one of the function keys is a help key. In this operation display device, if a first function key out of the function keys is pressed while the help key is being pressed, a help screen for the first function key is displayed.
The method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2008-073917 has a problem in that the usability of a touch-panel input device is not sufficiently improved. For example, because a specific button (a help key) is added, it is difficult to display more functions on a single screen. Furthermore, because it is necessary to press a plurality of points of the help key and a function key at the same time, a problem of poor usability occurs.